What Skerrett Sees
by Keira-House M.D
Summary: There are some connections that are instant and Skerrett has got no doubt in her mind that theirs is one of them. Victoria/Melbourne


**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the historical characters in Victoria nor do I own the TV series which was written by Daisy Goodwin. Any lines from the show are also not mine and are just borrowed from Daisy Goodwin and ITV Victoria.**

* * *

Skerrett thinks that the relationship between the queen and Lord Melbourne probably starts the moment they meet – there are some connections that are instant and she has got no doubt in her mind that theirs is one of them.

But she is not present then, does not even know either of them yet.

She sees soon enough though.

* * *

Skerrett likes the queen.

She never expects it but it is true nonetheless.

The queen, in the privacy of her rooms, is kind to her dressers, amusing with her stories and far more human than royalty usually seems.

So when the queen shows an open preference for Lord Melbourne, Skerrett thinks well of him too, knowing how much he means to the young queen.

She does not speak so much to Skerrett when Mrs Jenkins is present, but when it is just the two of them Skerrett finds that she hears a lot about Lord Melbourne.

He is woven into the events of every day, referenced as an always-welcome guest. And on the many evenings he dines at the palace Skerrett always finds the queen in a better mood.

As the months pass she begins to realise just how deep the feelings between queen and Prime Minister run. She does not see their rides or long talks but she hears about them from the rest of the household. And she witnesses the worry of the queen's ladies when Lord Melbourne's temporary resignation sends the queen into floods of tears.

There is talk about the two of them, has been since the beginning of the queen's reign, but Skerrett does not let that colour her perspective. She sees the way the queen smiles when she speaks about Melbourne, sees the joy when he begins to send her flowers.

Talk says the queen will soon marry but Skerrett is not so sure. She means what she says in the kitchens.

" _Seems to me the only man the Queen really likes is Lord Melbourne."_

* * *

It starts the moment they meet. Skerrett realises that the two of them have something truly special in the first few months of the queen's reign.

But when she knows for sure (as if the queen's clandestine trips to Dover House and Brocket Hall do not say enough), knows absolutely that it does not matter what the King of the Belgians or the Duchess of Kent want because the only man the queen will ever consider marrying is Lord Melbourne, is when she sees the two of them asleep on the queen's bed.

* * *

It is the day Princes Albert and Ernest leave with no engagement and the disappointed King Leopold.

As soon as the carriages have rolled out of sight the duchess begins a diatribe against the queen that can be heard all over the palace.

The queen, never one for meekness, Skerrett knows, argues back just as fiercely, and for almost half an hour all that can be heard are the admonishments of the duchess and the defensive arguments from the queen.

It all ends with the furious queen storming off to her rooms and the duchess retiring in high dudgeon.

During the course of the verbal battle between mother and daughter Skerrett suggests to the queen's ladies – as she once did following Lord Melbourne's resignation – that Brodie be sent to Dover House with a message for the Prime Minister.  
She sees the short note that Lady Portman scribbles quickly.

 _Come at once._

And of course Lord Melbourne does come, entering the palace with a panicked air unusual for him and being directed immediately towards the queen's rooms.

Skerrett follows Lord Melbourne as he heads towards the queen's rooms, and when they find her sitting room empty and hear sobbing from the bedroom, she speaks when he hesitates.

"You should go in, Lord Melbourne," she tells him, a little shocked at her boldness in speaking so openly to the Prime Minister, "the queen is always so pleased to see you. I will wait here to ensure you are not disturbed."

Lord Melbourne looks at her, with confusion and indecision and curiosity and suspicion. But something in her look must tell him that she genuinely wants to help and so he nods his thanks and disappears through the door.

She wonders suddenly if she has done the right thing.

If the Prime Minister is found alone with the queen, alone in her bedroom, there will be a terrible scandal that will cause disaster for the queen and her household.

Yet there is no more crying now, only the quiet murmuring of two voices speaking softly.

Skerrett sighs in relief and settles down to wait.

* * *

Lord Melbourne calms the queen and then returns to Dover House.

That is what Skerrett tells everyone. The Prime Minister came on horseback and no one will notice an extra horse in the stables for one night, she is sure of it.

"The queen is indisposed," she says to anyone who comes near the room, "and has asked not to be disturbed till morning."

She repeats the words so often that she almost starts to believe them herself.

And few question her – Baroness Lehzen looks like she wants to but she is well enough acquainted with the queen to know that it is unwise to disrupt her when she does not wish it.

The quiet talking goes on in the queen's rooms for hours but soon enough, though long past midnight and quite a while since the last enquiry about the queen, Skerrett falls asleep in her chair, unable to keep up her watchful vigil any longer.

* * *

She wakes with the morning light and tiptoes to open the queen's door. She knows it is wrong to do so but also that she must know what has gone on if she is to help the queen.

And there she finds them, stretched out asleep on the queen's bed facing each other with their hands intertwined.

The queen is almost fully dressed, having removed only her shoes and jewellery. Lord Melbourne is the same, his coat hung over the chair but aside from that and his shoes he is also fully dressed, if quite rumpled.

A compromising position to be sure but a clear sign that nothing irreversible has happened between the two.

What strikes her is the look of blissful peace on both their faces, the sheer contentment they have found by simply talking and falling asleep together.

Skerrett has seen a lot of couples, a lot of marriages. But this is not something she usually sees, this connection so strong and stubborn that even the dictates of society and royalty and government cannot break it.

This is the stuff that love stories are made of.

She does not wish to rouse them but she knows she must.

Still, it is early yet – so she will leave them to their slumber a while longer.

* * *

"You do not know how grateful I am," the queen says to Skerrett later that morning, once Lord Melbourne has been smuggled out of the palace.

"It was no trouble, Ma'am," she says, "I am glad you got some rest."

The queen reaches out then, to clasp Skerrett's free hand and press it gently, gratefully.

"One day we will not have to hide," she murmurs, almost to herself.

Skerrett finds herself hoping the queen is right.


End file.
